When a business tenant stops paying, every month of delay costs thousands. ROI Law Firm is the law firm commercial property owners in Tacoma and Pierce County call to enforce lease agreements and recover possession fast.
Commercial eviction is a different discipline from residential work. The landlord tenant laws that dominate the news, just cause rules, rent caps, and Tacoma's Fairness Code, govern residential leases. Your warehouse, storefront, or office suite plays by older, faster rules, and most of the advice published online quietly assumes you are renting out a house. A landlord tenant lawyer who tries commercial cases reads your situation differently from one who does not.
That difference cuts both ways. You can move more quickly than a residential landlord, but the lease controls almost everything, and sophisticated tenants arrive with legal counsel and counterclaims ready. A defective notice can hand a defaulting tenant months of free occupancy.
01 - OUR FOCUS
REPRESENTING LANDLORDS IN COMMERCIAL DISPUTES
We spend our weeks representing landlords, so the recurring patterns of commercial default, the underfunded franchise, the restaurant behind on percentage rent, the tenant claiming the landlord breaches the lease to excuse nonpayment, are familiar territory. Our unlawful detainer actions are built for Pierce County Superior Court and for the long term value of your commercial real estate, not just this quarter's rent roll.
02 - THE LAW
WHAT WASHINGTON LAW SAYS ABOUT COMMERCIAL EVICTION
01
DIFFERENT STATUTE, DIFFERENT SPEED
02
THE LEASE AGREEMENT CONTROLS
03
NOTICES MOVE FASTER, BUT STILL PRECISELY
04
SELF-HELP REMAINS A TRAP
03 - THE PROCESS
HOW WE HANDLE A COMMERCIAL EVICTION
01
LEASE AND DEFAULT REVIEW
02
SERVE NOTICE AND FILE
03
TAKE THE JUDGMENT
04
WRIT AND RECOVERY
04 - FEES
WHAT IT COSTS
Flat fees for notices and uncontested matters, hourly for contested cases, quoted before we begin. Commercial leases commonly shift attorney fees to the losing party, so honest legal advice up front includes whether your lease puts our fee on the tenant.
05 - COVERAGE
WHERE WE PRACTICE
Based in Tacoma, serving commercial property owners across Pierce County, including Lakewood and Puyallup, plus Kitsap, Eastside King, and Snohomish counties.
06 - FAQ
QUESTIONS COMMERCIAL LANDLORDS ASK US
01
CAN I JUST CHANGE THE LOCKS ON A COMMERCIAL TENANT?
Not safely. Lockouts and equipment seizure without a court order expose you to damages claims that can dwarf the rent owed. The court route is faster than defending the lawsuit a lockout invites.
02
HOW LONG DOES A COMMERCIAL EVICTION TAKE?
Typically faster than residential. An uncontested case runs roughly four to six weeks from notice to writ in Pierce County, because commercial tenants have fewer statutory defenses. Contested cases depend on the lease.
03
CAN I RECOVER UNPAID RENT AND DAMAGES?
Yes. The judgment can include unpaid rent, late charges, property damage, and attorney fees where the lease terms provide for them, and personal guarantees provide a second source of collection.
Every week of delay is another week of unpaid rent.
Bring your lease, your ledger, and any notice you
have served. We will map the fastest lawful path to possession and quote the fee before you commit.
Tacoma, WA
(253) 753-1530
1302 North I Street, Suite C, Tacoma, WA 98403
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